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Tour de France: David Millar shares his safety tips for fans at organisers' request

Organisers ASO enlist help of teams' and riders' social media channels to help get safety message across...

Tour de France organisers ASO have enlisted the help of teams and riders, including Garmin-Sharp’s David Millar, to use social media channels to remind fans of their responsibilities when watching the race from the roadside.

The appeal comes ahead of some key stages expected to draw big crowds in the coming days as the race heads towards its conclusion a week tomorrow – not least that unprecedented double ascent of Alpe d’Huez on Thursday.

Among those who took to Twitter in response to ASO’s appeal was Millar, who said:

The race director of the TdF asked me to use my 'tweeter' to offer safety guidance for the brilliant public on the road. I have 4 tips –

1. Do not stand on the road, it may seem unimaginable in the hours of waiting preceding the race, but when we do arrive we use ALL of it!

2. Remove children/pets/chairs from road when stepping back to avoid us, they more often than not end up being forgotten in the panic.

3. Bike riders appear further away through a camera lens/phone/iPad than they actually are, take a long shot, not a close-up!

4. Cheer for me! We hear everything when passing and, most importantly, enjoy the spectacle, I'll be standing there with you soon.

The importance of that second point was made apparent towards the end of Stage 2 of this year’s race when a small white dog ran across the road and stopped in front of a group of riders trying to chase down an attack; luckily, the pooch managed to get out of the way in the nick of time. You can see a video of that incident here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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